


And so we meet again

by JenMarie



Category: Doctor Who
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-03
Updated: 2014-01-03
Packaged: 2018-01-07 07:55:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1117410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JenMarie/pseuds/JenMarie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Regenerated and wandering Earth, the Master comes across a man in a bow tie, running by with another of his pets. Of course, as sick as he is of the apes and of Earth. Travelling with him seems the only option. Eleventh Doctor/Master fic. Platonic unless I happen to twist it into Best Enemies. Which, is not unlikely. But for now, platonic. Time-line set pre-Pandorica.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> So I started this ages ago, ignored it for months, and got hit with inspiration again a few weeks back.  
> I've got several chapters written, but I'm going to be posting them slowly, as I do tend to take a long time in between updates otherwise.  
> Enjoy ^_^

   At first, when he watched the man in the tweed jacket and bow tie run past, dragging along some redhead, he’d thought nothing of it.  He was lying low, regenerating had saved him after the time lord’s return.  But the nature of his injuries, and the fact that he’d been dying in the first place, had made it a much slower, much more painful process.  He hadn’t even been able to get a good look at himself since then.  Save for the fact that his hair was black again.  Which made him rather happy, he hadn’t much liked being blonde. 

      In addition to that, the drumming was no longer there.  At first he thought it was just an effect of not being completely healed yet, but it never came back.  He knew now that it was because the link between himself and Gallifrey had been broken, both when he died, and when the white point star had been destroyed.  Not that he could remember the exact events leading to his regeneration. Everything there was vague. Cloudy. He knew he’d hit the ground pretty hard but that was it.

Since then, he’d wandered, trying not to attract attention, he didn’t need the precious Doctor on his tail again.  Begging him to travel with him. 

       No, didn’t he understand?  He could never be content with just  _seeing_ the universe.  He had to have it….

      Although since the drums had stopped, the need for that had lessened somewhat.  He almost felt….Calm.

      Several weeks later, he saw the bow tie man again.  And this time, he could smell him, and he had run so close by that he had heart the four note beat of the man’s hearts.  His own eyes went wide, surely not.  This man dressed like a schoolteacher, and wearing ridiculous round glasses….He remembered something from a long time ago.  Back at the academy.  The Doctor telling him why he’d shown up one day with glasses.

“ _Theta, you don’t_ need _glasses.”  Koschei said “Why wear them?”_

“ _They look cool, and they make me look smart.” His friend replied, straightening said glasses a bit._

“ _You’re already smart you idiot-“_

“ _That’s contradictory-“_

“ _Oh shut up, you know what I meant.”_

       _Theta grinned, Koschei always got annoyed when a conversation didn’t go the way he wanted.  Or whenever Theta corrected something he’d said. Which, admittedly, was a rare occasion._

“ _We’re gonna be late, we get to go to the museum today.  See the old TARDIS models.”_

“ _Boring.” Koschei muttered “I just want my own so I can get off this planet.”_

“ _Oh come on!  It’ll be fun-“_

“ _Can we let class get ahead of us, and sneak into one?”_

        _Theta rolled his eyes “They keep them locked you know.”_

“ _How should I know, your the one with the_  smart glasses _.”_

      Apparently, this bow tie man, who he was still refusing to refer to as the Doctor, at least until he knew for sure, had heard his own hearts, or perhaps smelled him.  Or maybe he just stopped because he’d seen a man sitting on the ground against a lamp post.

“Hello.” The bow tie man said brightly

      He looked up at the overly smiley face and glanced over the features.  If this was the Doctor, then he’d been killed by something…That was obvious.  His hair was longer, and if possible, more ridiculous than the porcupine mess he’d had before.  Rather large nose, prominent chin, sort of greyish-green eyes. 

“Hello,” He replied, not making any attempt to be friendly.

“I’m-” He knew what the bow tie man-…The  _Doctor_  had been about to say.  So he stopped him.

“I know, so lets just skip your introduction, shall we?”

       The Doctor’s face fell.  Like he was remembering something bad.

“You died.  I thought you were gone for good this time.”

“Sorry Doc-tah,” He muttered, knowing that particular pronunciation was annoying to his oldest friend.  “Can’t get rid of me.”

     The Doctor frowned slightly “Oh no, I knew that, but really, it’s a little unnerving every time.  Like when you were almost a ca-“

“I told you never speak of that again, or I will slowly kill whatever poor soul you’ve chosen to drag along and ruin the life of this time.” He said sharply, standing up.  “Now, I’ve had enough of this chatter, where’s your TARDIS, get me off this horrible excuse for a planet.”

“Master-“

“That’s my name, I don’t have the patience to argue with you, get me out of here before I set off some sort of bomb around your precious human race.”

         The Master would never admit it.  But being back inside a TARDIS was amazing.  He’d spent so long on the awful rock he’d been going insane.  Actually insane this time and not just a result of the drums.  He didn’t want to stay, just get somewhere where he could get a ship of his own, and find some planet to blow up.  He knew well enough to stay away from earth until he had a better plan in place.


	2. Two

“Who’s this then?”

Great, the redhead again. The one he’d seen before. Sort of pretty, better than the last one anyway. But he didn’t understand the Doctor’s love of redheads. And his odd wish to be one himself.

“No one,” The Doctor told her “Just, a, stranger, homeless guy, followed me, what are you doing here homeless man?”

The Master sighed “If you’re going to use the word homeless, you realize it also applies to you?”

“No it doesn’t, I’ve got my home, right here, the TARDIS. You don’t. So, you’re homeless.”

“Doctor-” The redhead started to talk again

“While he’s being an idiot, I’m the Master. I’m going to assume your one of his pets?”

“Hey-”

“Sorry,  _companions_. But really, pets, apes, companions, it’s all the same.”

She just looked a little confused “How, exactly do you know the Doctor?”

“None of your business ginger, I’m only here to get off this stupid rock.”

“I’m not leaving you on your own, you’ll, blow up a planet or something.” The Doctor said, not really paying them much attention anymore. Flipping switches and pressing buttons at random.

“More than nine hundred years and you still can’t fly this thing right.” The Master muttered, leaving the redhead and following the Doctor’s path, pressing other buttons and pulling levers until the Doctor stopped and pushed him away.

“Now your just being childish-”

“You’re not flying my TARDIS, you  _cannibalized_  her, so you leave her alone.” His expression had gone very dark, so the Master stepped away. So he’d let him continue flying the ship wrong. Maybe he’d get to have some fun with it later.

“So, Amy, our trip is going to have to wait a while, as I do have to figure out what I’m doing with him.”

“Amy, nice name, and your Scottish aren’t you?”

“Yeah…” She stepped a little farther away from him and whispered something to the Doctor. Although she wasn’t quite quiet enough for him to not hear.

“Doctor, who is this guy?”

“No one, for once, I agree with him, it’s none of your business.” The Master smirked, watching the exchange as the first at all interesting thing he’d seen in decades.

“Doctor!”

“Amy!” Rather funny, this new Doctor, much more…Hyper. He moved his arms a lot when he talked, and couldn’t seem to stand still. And as interesting as it had been the first few minutes, the Master was getting bored, and decided to see exactly how long it would take to drive the Doctor insane.

At first it was just a manner of tapping against the dash of the TARDIS in a beat he now found comforting rather than maddening. He knew it was working from the annoyed looks he was getting every so often. But it quickly became more than that. After the tapping, he stood up and started following closely behind the Doctor wherever he moved. A few feet away at first, but getting closer and closer until he was practically breathing down the Doctor’s neck. Finally:  
“Just stop!”

“I’m bored.” The Master complained “Never would’ve taken this long in my TARDIS. You just had to steal some ancient discontinued-”

“Enough! I’m just, trying to find some place, where I can-….” He trailed off, and then, turning to Amy “I’m going to bring you home, I’ll come get you after I’ve found somewhere safe for him.”

“Doctor-”

“Amy, this is important, he’s dangerous, I’ll be back in, ten minutes, well, for you, well, I hope, that hasn’t exactly worked out so well the last few times.”

So Amy left. Not that she was happy about it, though she didn’t end up shouting at all, which the Master would have quite liked to have seen.

“So, now that ginger is gone, where are we going?”

“Don’t think I was lying to her.”

“Never said you were. Although now that you’ve said something, maybe you did.” The Master said, smirking. “Anyway, have you got a mirror? Haven’t really had the chance to see myself, new face and all.”

“What number is this exactly?”

“Let me think, no.”

“What do you mean,  _no_?”

“I mean, I have absolutely no idea. Twenty-seven? Thirty maybe? Exactly how many times have I died? I can’t remember. Everything gets more fuzzy the farther back I go.”

The Doctor frowned “That isn’t normal-”

“Don’t care, mirror?”

“Just use the monitor.”

So he did. Like he’d noticed before, his hair was black again, and longer than it had been in quite a while. It needed cutting, but again, he hadn’t exactly been living large, or had time for something as trivial as a haircut. His eyes were darker, sort of greenish-brown. And his face was cut sharper, less rounded than it had been. Much better than last time. And not blond. He really didn’t like being blond. Or short, he had been quite short last time as well. He didn’t like the Doctor, or many other people for that matter, being taller than he was.

“Need a haircut.”

“Says the man who has girl hair.” The Master muttered “Personally I’d take your cricket outfit over your current one. Why tweed? And the bow tie? You look like a fifty year old schoolteacher dressed you.”

“The bow tie is cool. And there were limited options, it just sort of stuck. Your one to talk, exactly what poor homeless person did you steal those rags from?”

The Master shrugged, grinning slightly

“Am I allowed to use the wardrobe?”

The Doctor hesitated “Nowhere else! If you aren’t back here in five minutes I’m coming after you.”


	3. Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there is Sister Of Mine, the TARDIS hates the Master, and Theta is lonely.

      After about two minutes it became evident to the Master that the TARDIS was not going to allow him to find the wardrobe easily, or quickly. It led him in circles and backwards, and twice, he almost fell into a large pit he was sure he’d never seen in any other model. At one point, he passed a room full of mirrors, and in each one, the same girl was reflected, though she wasn’t in the room at all. She had a rather sad expression, with one hand against the glass.

“Master!”

“Finally,” The Master muttered “Your stupid ship has it out for me.”

“And whose fault is that?” The Doctor asked “Yours.”

“Is not. She’s hated me since the beginning.” The Master insisted. And he didn’t understand the amused look the Doctor had. “What?”

“Nothing. The wardrobe is this way.”

“I’ll say it again, out of all this, you picked tweed?”

“I like it.”

The Master sighed, when it came to clothing there was really no point arguing. It was better at least, than the clown suit he used to have. The Doctor had left him alone as soon as they’d gotten to the wardrobe. Every so often the room shuddered, making it clear that they were in flight again. Even though he wouldn’t have known if the Doctor would turn on the stabilizers.

“Where are you taking me then. It’s not like it matters. You’ll never really get rid of me.”

The Doctor looked up from the console, he had been watching one of the little blinking lights very intently. “Not trying to get rid of you. Never have been. And you would think you would realize that.”

“So what, your just going to fly me around until I’m all sunshine and unicorns like you?” The Master asked “Not going to happen.”

The Doctor was ignoring him now, eyes fixed back on the blinking green light. “When did they stop?”

A jolt close to that of an electric shock ran through the Master. Did he mean the drums? No, impossible, how would he know.

“What?” He asked, a little two sharply.

“When did the drumming stop? When you regenerated, or as soon as you made the decision to help me send Gallifrey back to the war?”

“How did you- Forget it. As soon as I made the decision. And I didn’t do it for your benefit!”

“No, of course not. Can’t have people thinking you did something nice can we.” Even though his head was still down, the Master could see that the Doctor was smiling.

“Shut up, find some uninhabited planet, drop me there, and go running back to your ginger pet.”

“No. And don’t call her a pet. She’s got a name.”

“ _Amy_ then. Doesn’t matter. How long do you think it’ll take for you to ruin her life too?”

“Stop it-” The Doctor’s smile had vanished, there was a note in his voice that suggested pain.

“Oh just admit it, you’re as bad as me. You destroy people. You make them destroy themselves.”

“I am not, like you, you are  _insane_ Koschei!”

“You’re just touchy now aren’t you. Lot more anger than you’ve had in a while.” The Master grinned, enjoying this game, of how far he could go in terms of insulting the Doctor until he was finally angry enough to kick him out. Of course that would never happen. “And I’m not insane. I just like to win. Is that such an awful thing?”

“Winning isn’t always good.”

And of course he said that. Because he was the Doctor and the Doctor had had his own fair share of winning. Gallifrey being one of the worst victories he’d ever had to face. But all the Master knew was losing. The short victories he’d had, were the moments when he felt most content. When he knew he was in control.

“Maybe not for you. You spend too much time with humans to like winning. Everything is about your precious Earth and the human race. Do you ever stop to think that maybe they can get on by themselves?”

“I know they can. I’m just- Why am I telling you, why do you want to know?”

“You’re just what?” The Master asked, not answering the Doctor’s question “Lonely? You could be lonely surrounded by people. You’ve been that way forever.”

* * *

 

“ _Koschei?”_

_The older boy twitched in his sleep “Go to bed Theta…” He muttered, barely awake “Why are you in here?”_

“ _I was lonely…”_

“ _It’s almost morning Theta…Go to bed.”_

“ _I’m not tired.”_

_Koschei sat up in bed “Okay, fine you’ve done it, I’m awake, what do you want?”_

“ _I told you, I was lonely.”_

“ _Lonely? You were asleep.”_

“ _I wasn’t sleeping. I couldn’t. I had this…Emptiness. It was cold, and it was lonely, I just wanted to see another person.” There was a weight at the foot of the bed, Theta had sat down. Koschei made to turn on the lamp, but Theta stopped him_

“ _No, don’t, I like the dark in the morning.”_

_Right. Theta Sigma. The kid who’d been afraid of the dark as long as Koschei had known him. Which, considering they were only eight, wasn’t very long._

“ _Fine. How do we fix your loneliness then?”_


	4. Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the Master throws a tantrum.  
> No really. He's such a child, it's ridiculous.   
> Someone remind me why this was a good idea.

“Why have you brought me here. I’m not one of your pets, I don’t care what you want to show me.”

“They aren’t pets. And I wanted to show you something you’ll enjoy.” The Doctor looked unhappy. No, not unhappy, the Master realized. Nostalgic. He looked like he was lost in memory.

“You can’t  _fix_ me. I’m not going to magically turn into something you don’t hate.”

“I don’t hate you Master.” The Doctor said “And you  _will_ like this.”

So the Master followed him out of the TARDIS. Onto a nondescript, but very familiar planet.

“Why have you brought me to Torreck? This planet hasn’t been inhabited since before we left the academy.”

“I came across this, thing, about century ago, well, this particular one, I’ve come across things like it before. But this one was different. And it was, amazing. Absolutely amazing. Like a window, a gap in time and space that went from Torreck to-”

The Master held a hand up, and the Doctor cut off. He was looking through a square, maybe the size of a mobile. And through it, he could see a forest. Not the dark, thin trees that surrounded them. But trees with silver leaves. So familiar that he swore for one second he could smell them, feel the warm breeze. That he was standing there, in  _that_ forest. Instead of this dark one on barren Torreck.

“Gallifrey….” The Master said softly.

“Not really. Just an image, far behind the days of the war. Someday it will catch up, disappear. But for now.”

The Master didn’t speak, he couldn’t seem to tear his gaze away from that tiny window. From  _home_. Home that he could never go back to. That no one could. It had been a long time since the Master had felt even slightly saddened by anything. But seeing Gallifrey, knowing he could never go back. Not even just for a second. It was hard to take. And underneath that sadness, anger started to boil. Because why couldn’t he go back? The Doctor. The Doctor had destroyed it. Locked it away and made sure it could never escape. Well, that hadn’t worked out so well. Davros, Khan, and he himself had gotten through that lock. Sure Davros had been destroyed…Again. Sure Khan had gone insane. And the Master’s plan had turned against him when he realized Rassilon’s true intentions. But it all went back to the Doctor.

“Just leave me here…” The Master said

“Master, you can’t-”

“It’s uninhabited, what could I possibly do, don’t even have a ship.”

“I-”

The Master spun to face the Doctor, tearing his eyes from Gallifrey with some difficulty.

“Did you not hear me? I said, leave. Me. Here. It’s all your fault that Gallifrey burned in the first place. Now go before I decide I’d rather leave you here than stay!”

“I don’t want to leave you-”

“I want you to go!” The Master snapped. Something about this place. Something strange. His anger felt wrong. Childish. As if the sight of home had made him a toddler throwing a tantrum. But he wanted the Doctor gone. So he could plan, so he could build a ship. So he could stare without being disturbed, or reminded constantly that home was gone.

And he did get the Doctor to leave. Go back to the Scottish ginger woman. And it didn’t take the Master very long to discover that Torreck, wasn’t uninhabited at all.

* * *

 

… … … … … … … … …

Well that certainly didn’t take long. Nice to know he hadn’t lost that ability. Although, he really didn’t think he would have. Most minds were simple things to bend and mold. The people of Torreck were no different. Spindly limbs and overlarge eyes. Of course, that might have come from living underground. They were incredible builders, that was evident. The city they had managed to construct. Just beneath the surface of Torreck. Well. It was incredible. The buildings were a mix of stone and pounded metal, built up to just below the ceiling of the caves. no

And whatever they had, they willingly gave up. Because they were simple, and he asked.   


	5. Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the Master causes a revolution, and Amy wants a purple jungle.

Chapter Five

When the Doctor did return, as the Master had expected he would, he came to quite a surprising change.

Most of Torreck’s inhabitants had moved above ground. Building long, low standing, curve edged buildings. Almost resembling overturned boats. Amy was trailing along after him, looking quite unimpressed by the landscape, which was still very much reminiscent of Earth in November. Grey and grey and more grey. The Doctor kept shoving one hand in the pocket of his coat. Fingers brushing the box holding her engagement ring.

Rory... Oh he was still having so much trouble getting her to remember him. He _knew_ it could be done. Or rather, hoped it could.

At first he hadn’t even recognized the place where the window was. Mainly because of the town that seemed to surround it. His first thought was that he should probably make sure planets were still uninhabited.

“Did you bring us here on purpose? Or did the TARDIS just take you wherever it felt like? Because I don’t see what’s so spectacular about this place. You promised me purple jungles. So unless this place ended up-”

“Shhhh!”

“Don’t shush me-”

“Shhhh! I don’t want to draw attention to-oh!”

“Hello, Doctor,” One of the...Hmm...What exactly to call them. He wasn’t aware they’d even been there. Torreckians? Torreckites... “My name is Keeja if that helps at all?” Telepathic! Oh that was amazing. They had really progressed quite a lot since he’d last been there. This one was vaguely green-skinned. They seemed to range from that to brown. At least from the ones he’d seen. With large eyes and spindly limbs. Something that looked almost like a tail that he could see swishing behind Keeja.

Well, he supposed they would have had to change quite a lot, having suddenly come into the view of everyone.

“Hello there, have we met? I don’t think we have?”

“No, but Lord Master spoke of you often in the early days.”

“Oh, and when was that?” The Doctor asked, frowning slightly. So it had been the Master who had coaxed them into this evolution.

“Some two and a half centuries ago.” Keeja said “He came and brought us from our caverns. Our metalwork impressed him. We had remained below since we first settled here. The sun scorched our planet all day. And when at first it burned us, we stopped returning to the surface to check. But it has become old. And not so bright. At first he spoke to us little. But that has changed as the window has.”

“The time window? Er...Thing..Yeah, that. I assume it’s close to closing now.”

Keeja nodded “We see fire through it. Fire and suffering. He has long since stopped watching.”

“He who?” Amy asked “They said ‘Master’ right. The same guy you sent me home to deal with?”

“Yes, same one. Not important really, but he...Leaves you alone? No huge disasters? Mass murder? Weird mind control?”

These words were met with a knowing smile, revealing rather shark-like teeth. “At first, to give himself authority. Though he has released us from it slowly. After which we bid him stay out of familiarity. And of his knowledge. I assume you wish to speak with him?”

“We don’t? Right?” Amy asked, looking to the Doctor expectantly. “You told me he was dangerous, and _insane_. We _don’t_ want to talk to him.”

“I’m sorry Amy, _really_ sorry. But I do. I have to talk to him. I can’t _not._ Especially after what he did here. He should know better than to interfere with the-”

“Blah blah blah, time-lines and things I don’t care about.” The Doctor spun full circle. But the voice came from nowhere.

“I do apologize for not warning you. Lord Master is sometimes wired to those speakers there-” Keeja indicated a post only a few feet from them. “-A way of speaking to the whole of the town at once.”

“I would appreciate him not doing that again. If he can hear me. Which I’m going to assume he can.” The Doctor grumbled. Grabbing Amy’s hand and pulling her along after Keeja.


	6. Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the Doctor is no longer used to having people who can read his mind.  
> The Master actually trusts some people..  
> Also Amy tries to threaten him.

Chapter Six

Back at last. Not that he'd minded the absence. It allowed him to regain his head a bit. The collected thought he'd used to have. Lacking the mania. The sharp edge of insanity had eased off from what it had been in his previous two lives. And a quarter of a millennium of time between their meeting had given him what he needed. The way he was before. Back again to that never ending game.

Though he had to admit that he was not really going to let go of his hold on Torreck any time soon. Nor were they about to let him go themselves. It had been exceedingly easy to twist them. But keeping that hold would have been a bad plan and he knew it. The last thing he needed happening was them turning on him. _That_ lesson had taken a fair amount of time to sink in. Several lifetimes really.

_'Bring him in through the side, thank you Keeja.'_

He felt her nod through the link he'd created. The Torre were a fairly telepathic race. Yet another thing that had surprised him. Keeja had been the equivalent of a noble in the Torre's society. And now, as the eldest surviving member of her family, she was something of a sovereign. She was certainly one of the few of them he actually trusted. Which was why they'd created the link. It allowed them to keep the peace. Her giving them the familiarity of their own race, while still leaving him in charge. When things did get violent, as was likely to happen with any newly exposed race, she left that to him. While he allowed her to manage more of the political differences.

_'There is a woman with him. Is she to be allowed?'_

A woman. Possibly the same one from last time. But that all depended upon how long this had been for the Doctor.

_'Yes, she'll be no mind to me. And he does get irritable when I kill his pets.'_

_'As you wish Lord Master.'_

And then the door opened. Revealing the Doctor, bow tie and all, being led by Keeja and followed by Amy. Hmm, this could prove fun. Seeing as Ginger was already quite unhappy. He rose from his chair, bowing mockingly as they reached the center of the room.

“So, the Doctor finally comes off his pedestal to visit. Not that it seems to have been long for you. A few weeks? A few months? Did you miss me _that much_.” The grin in place was so familiar...So much like the Master he _knew._ The Doctor could hardly believe this was the same man who had been ragged and dirty on the streets. “I’m flattered, truly. _And_ you brought Ginger along.”

“Call me ginger again _your highness_ and I’m going to kick you where the-”

The Doctor put a hand over her mouth, just for a moment to stop the rest of the sentence. The Master simply laughed. “Oh, foul mouth on that one. Fiery. Attractive too. I’d _love_ to see how long it’d take to get her screaming.”

“You stay away from her, Master. What have you _done_ here?”

The Master raised his eyebrows “What have I done? I’ve given these people an entire planet they didn’t realize they could have. Why? Did you think I’d done something wrong? That I was enslaving them with a reign of terror and bloodshed?” He tsked softly “No, that would have been no use. Can’t have such an impressionable race hating me. Learned my lesson there I would say.”

“I don't believe you...” The Doctor said slowly “There's always some other plan. Ulterior motive, you don't just _help people_. You manipulate them.”

“Like you?” Another of the Torreck...Inhabitants. The Doctor really needed something to refer to them as.

“Torre is the word you're looking for my dear.”

“I'd appreciate you staying _out_ of my head!” The Doctor snapped.

“Why? Afraid I'll see something? Like that dreadful incident with Mars? Or your _darling_ wife?” Oh he did love this. The taunts and watching the irritation and embarrassment.

“I _knew_ she was your wife!” Amy hissed

“She's not- We're not-”

“Now that we're at the point where even your companion happens to agree with me. Why are you here? I don't recall doing anything enough to warrant your attention.”

The Doctor shifted for a moment, well...He'd come back because he'd thought the Master would have cooled off by now. Not that he'd been trying to go so very far ahead. He'd just thought that. Well...After what had happened. Maybe he would consider...

“Oh so you _did_ miss me.” After that, the Doctor hastily began reconstructing his mental walls.


	7. Seven

Chapter Seven  
“So you're called Keeja, yeah?” Amy asked, watching the green-skinned woman...Woman? She was a she? At least, Amy was quite sure she was.  
“Keeja Mon'et-va, yes Miss Pond.”  
“Amy's fine.”  
“As you wish.” Keeja paused, head tilting to one side, short hair displacing slightly “The Doctor...You've known him long?”  
Amy nodded “Since I was a kid. He sort of became my imaginary friend...Until you know, he turned out to be real.”  
Keeja smiled knowingly “Don't we all wish for that to happen? The friends we create always seem to know us best.”   
“Suppose so...It's strange though. You never really know what he's thinking... He gets sad, and he never says why.” Like earlier. That whole mess with the engagement ring.  
“Lord Master has these times. The last children of Gallifrey are troubled by their pasts. Interwoven and similar as they are.”   
“Similar? Him? And the Doctor?” Amy wasn't sure whether to laugh or to look insulted.  
“Oh yes, quite the same those two. A door goes both ways, and when I allowed Lord Master into my mind, he had therefore, to allow me into his own.” That was something Keeja was not likely to repeat. Though he had gotten some more control over himself now, that had been quite some time ago, and his mind had still been the equivalent of a maze. Full of things that followed and lashed out and tried to bite. “They used to be quite close. Some things went wrong...Ah, but I've said too much. You should ask your Doctor. He could tell you far better than I could.”   
…...........................  
“Funny isn't it, the way things work?”  
The Doctor looked up, after being informed point-blank that the Master had no immediate intention of leaving Torreck, a smaller Torre had brought them tea. Everything had become far too friendly for his liking. As much as he would like to believe there was no malice there. No trap. “What could possibly be funny?” He asked, eyes casting about, looking over the room for what felt like the hundredth time. But something was wrong about it. He couldn't shake the feeling of unease. And Amy had gone somewhere with Keeja. He wasn't exactly happy about that either.  
“When this started, I was always chasing you. I've offered you the universe more times than I've died, which under the circumstances, is quite a lot.” The Master leaned forward slightly, arms crossing loosely on the table. “Now here you are, coming after me and nearly demanding that I come with you. Like you have been since you first realized I wasn't dead along with the rest of them.”   
“It makes sense.”  
“No it doesn't. Stick us both in your TARDIS and we'd murder each other within a week.”  
“I think you might be overestimating your own self control...” The Doctor muttered.  
“I'm not exactly new to working with you Doctor. Unless you've repressed your days of being employed by UNIT from memory, I think we would do quite fine if we weren't confined.”   
“Confined!? The TARDIS is infinite. How is that being confined?”  
“Far from infinite. And aside from that, she'd likely throw me into a pit if I wasn't glued to your side the whole time. She only let me find the wardrobe once you came along.”  
“Maybe if you apologized...And kept down the insults. She doesn't take kindly to people calling her 'useless museum pieces'” The Doctor added with a smirk   
“Well she is. And on top of that fact, you can't pilot her worth a damn.”  
“And you can?”  
The Master gave a mocking laugh “I'm sorry, which one of us actually passed the pilot exam? And which of us failed it, twice.”  
“You know, I don't really remember.” After that the Doctor's expression turned abruptly serious. “Really though, you're not...These people, their ideas, thoughts, they're all completely their own, right?”  
The Master smiled “What? You still don't believe me?”  
“Homicidal maniac to neutral co-ruler doesn't exactly seem your usual. So yes, I maybe am having a hard time swallowing the idea!” The Doctor snapped. Because there was always another plan. Another motive. The Master was never just did anything. The Doctor wished he could trust the man. He was all that was left. But everything that had happened...  
“I think you could stand to show a bit of gratitude. It wouldn't exactly be difficult to convince the Torre to form an army. And they're intelligent enough that I could have them building weapons I would never have dreamed of having during my control of Earth.”


End file.
